Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. Harriet Van Horne

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Tag Archives: 400 Soups

All the kiddos are heading back to school soon. Which means lots of lunches, coffees and dinner with these amazing students; telling me of summer adventures, schedules of the upcoming school year, joy, heartbreak, talking for hours and hours. It blesses me and feeds my heart.

Add the vegetable stock, followed by the peanut butter and corn. Stir until thoroughly combined.

Season well. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until all the vegetables are tender. Serve garnished with chopped peanuts.

This soup has a great flavor, but not so spicy. I need to remember this cook book tends to under-spice the recipes. Next time I’ll add in some cumin, ginger and maybe some Chinese 5 spice powder. I served the soup over white rice with some shredded chicken thrown in.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, (I used my 5 quart dutch oven for all soup preparation) add the chicken thighs and fry for about 5 minutes on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the bacon, onion and herbs to the pan and cook gently, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, carrot, zucchini and celery and cook for 5-7 minutes more.

Return the chicken thighs to the pan, add the stock and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over a low heat for 35-40 minutes, stirring the soup occasionally to prevent sticking.

Remove the chicken thighs with a slotted spoon and place them on a board. Stir the peas and pasta into the soup and bring back to a boil. Simmer, stirring, for 7-8 minutes or according to the instructions on the packet, until the pasta is just al dente.

Meanwhile, remove and discard the chicken skin, then remove the meat from the chicken bones and cut it into small pieces. Since I used boneless, I only had to cut these into pieces.

Return the chicken meat to the soup, stir well and heat through. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Ladle into warmed soup plates or bowls, top with cheese and serve pipping hot.

So this soup was good, but a little bland the first night. But the second day? Wowzers! All the flavors had bloomed and deepened. When I make this soup again, I will prepare it the day before, skim the fat and reheat for serving. I would also add a fourth chicken thigh, just to add a little more meat.

First prepare the meatballs. Break the bread into small pieces and place them in a bowl. Add the mile and leave to soak for about 10 minutes. Add the beef, parsley, orange rind and garlic, and season well. Mix well with your hands.

When the bread is thoroughly incorporated with the meat, add enough beaten egg to bind the mixture. Shape small spoonfuls of the mixture into balls about the size of a large olive.** I used a little too much egg (approx half), the mixture would be fine without adding the egg.

Heat the oil (from meatball ingredients) in a frying pan and fry the meatballs in batches for 6 to 8 minutes, until browned all over. Use tongs or a draining spoon to removed them from the pan and set aside.** Do this in a separate pan than the one you’ll be making soup in. I didn’t and had quite a mess on my hands…

Puree the cannellini beans with a little of the stock in a food processor or blender until smooth. Set aside.

Heat the oil (from the soup ingredients) in a large pan. Add the chopped onion, garlic, chili, celery and carrot; cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Cover and cook gently for a further 5 minutes.** Cook gently? This was a new phrase for me. So I covered and turned the heat to low.

Stir in the tomato paste, the bean puree and the remaining vegetable stock. Bring the soup to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.** I also added 2 cups of water. The stock alone wasn’t enough liquid.

Stir in the pasta shapes and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until the pasta is tender, but not soft. Add the meatballs and basil and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season the soup well before ladling it into warmed bowls. Garnish each bowl with a basil leaf, and serve freshly grated Parmesan cheese with the soup.** As you can see in the picture below, I skipped more basil. I used a Parm/Asiago blend from Trader Joes.** 11 oz of pasta is A LOT, I would cut this to 7 or 8 oz max.

We had a friend over for dinner when I served this soup, and we all liked it. Husband and friend did not like the orange rind in the meatballs. And as I said above, 11 oz of pasta is a lot, I would definitely cut this down. I’ll be making this one again, with a few slight tweaks.

P.S. – By the time this soup got to leftovers the next day, it had turned into a pasta dish instead of a soup. The 11 oz. of pasta had soaked up all the liquid. So less pasta, and adding 3 or 4 cups of water will keep this a soup until leftovers.